The End of Innocence
by Brenneka
Summary: This is about Itachi's morbid obsession with corrupting Sasuke. It's a sort of flashback.
1. Intro

Their parents should have picked someone else for this job. Itachi had no good intentions for his family so why should he keep this little nuisance safe? Of course he wouldn't, and Sasuke looked so young and vulnerable. That's when he decided to make little Sasuke his next project. Itachi could feel his involuntary reaction to the innocent and helpless look in his little brother's eyes. He longed to be the one to corrupt that innocence. This particular project would be special. He could corrupt this little boy more than any of his other victims because they were considered "family." Of course this meant little to Itachi. It only excitd him more. Sasuke's view of the world would be entirely ruined. Itachi had the potential to shatter his brother's entire future, and he reveled in this feeling of power and domination. This is what he lived for. He didn't need such silly unlasting things as friendship and love like other, weaker people did. As long as he held power over all of whom he met, he didn't need to feel any other emotions. He felt no connections to the people he called family, and the things he planned for his young, delicate little butterfly would make them all cringe. This made Itachi smile. Itachi cut off his thoughts and looked down at his little brother. He was smiling up at his elder brother while playing with plastic throwing stars. Itachi walked over to him and knelt in the dirt. "Hey there little brother." Itachi picked up one of the toys and twirled it around his finger. "I have some real throwing stars in my pouch. Would you like to see them?" Sasuke's eyes lit up as he watched his brother pull the weapons out. "They're real sharp so be careful." He handed one to Sasuke.

Not even a moment later did Itachi hear a yelp from the boy. Sasuke had cut his finger on the edge of one of the stars. The little boy had tears in his eyes. "Aw, now what did I say? You have to be careful with things that are this dangerous. They're always out to hurt you." Itachi smiled and held out his hand. "Let me see your finger." Sasuke held it out for Itachi, and he took it and put the bloody finger in his mouth. Itachi's eyes turned red with his sharingan as a reaction to the little boy's blood. Sasuke looked startled and flushed. Itachi laughed and ruffled the boys hair with his free hand. "I have to clean the wound somehow silly." He pulled out ointment and bandages from his pouch. He gingerly dressed the wound, and put his brother's hand back on his leg with a pat.

"Thank you....nii-chan."

"Mmm." Itachi smiled and stood up. "Just don't tell mom and dad about that or they won't let you play with me anymore."

Sasuke looked up eagerly. "You can count on me nii-chan!" Itachi smiled again as his eyes switched to their normal color. He took Sasuke's uninjured hand and led him back inside.


	2. Corruption

"Itachi keep an eye on your brother this week. Your father and I will be back on Monday."

"Yes mom." His parents were going to a neighboring village for the week as a celebration for his father's promotion. Itachi knew that this would be the perfect time to begin his little game with his younger brother. Sasuke helped Itachi put their parents' bags into the hallway. "So when mom and dad are gone, what do you wanna do?" The little boy's eyes lit up.

"I get to spend the whole week hanging out with you?"

Itachi chuckled. "Of course Sasuke." Their parents came in and said their goodbyes, and as they were waving goodbye, Itachi nudged his little brother's arm. "What do you wanna have for lunch?"

"RAMEN!" Of course, Itachi hated ramen, and he knew that Sasuke only liked it because their parents never allowed it but, the pair set off to Ichiraku anyway to get some lunch before they started their day. Sasuke already adored his older brother, and he would do anything to be recognized by him. Itachi planned to use this to his advantage that week. When they got to the restaurant, Itachi ordered two bowls of pork ramen. As they were eating, Itachi used his chopsticks to give Sasuke some "particularly good" pieces of pork from his bowl. Sasuke was a very messy eater so this gave Itachi another opportunity to mess with his brother.

"Oh Sasuke, you keep getting broth on your cheek." Itachi took his napkin and wiped his little brother's cheek off gently and slowly. "There ya go." He smiled and went back to his own bowl.

It began to rain right when the two brothers left the ramen shop. Itachi pulled out his rain jacket. "Sasuke, come under this with me."

Sasuke smiled up at him and gratefully went under his brother's arm. "Thank you nii-chan!"

That night, after Sasuke had gone to bed, Itachi went into his room with a kunai. He made no noise as he approached the side of his brother's bed. Sasuke didn't even stir as Itachi grabbed his arm. Itachi raised his kunai and cut quickly down the back of Sasuke's hand. At that, Sasuke woke up and tried to pull his hand away, but Itachi was too strong for him. "Itachi? Wha-" Itachi lifted the kunai to his lips and licked the blood off of the blade. His eyes turned red, and Sasuke had an intense feeling of deja vu. Before Sasuke could fully grasp the memory, he seemed to fall into the darkness.

Not even five minutes later he awoke screaming. "MOOOOOOMMMMMM!" He glanced down at his hand. He had dried blood there from a small, shallow cut. "AHHH!" Itachi ran into the room looking thoroughly disheveled. He checked the room as he ran to his brother.

"Sasuke? What's wrong little brother." Sasuke flinched back from Itachi as the memories flooded back to him. But what he couldn't remember, was if it was a dream or not.

"Nii-chan! Look at my hand! It's bleeding!" Itachi looked at his hand, and as soon as his eyes found the wound shock and concern spread across his face.

"How did this happen?" Itachi gingerly picked up his little brother and brought him to the bathroom.

"You mean...you don't know?"

"Of course not silly. I wasn't in your room after I left you there tonight, but we do have to get this wound cleaned up.... It's a good thing it wasn't too deep." Itachi set Sasuke down on the side of their bathtub and got out the antiseptic and the band-aids.

"So you really don't know what happened?" He looked scared and apprehensive.

Itachi squeezed Sasukes's shoulder. "Of course little brother. I would never hurt you. You can trust me." He held out his own hand, palm-up. "Now let me see that cut." Sasuke put his hand in his brother's outstretched one and allowed him to dress the wound.

When Itachi was done, he patted Sasuke on the head and pushed him out to his bedroom. "Now, you can come knock on my door if you need me during the rest of the night, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay, nii-chan." Sasuke seemed to believe his elder brother. So, they both went off to bed.

The next morning, Itachi was making breakfast when Sasuke came in rubbing his eyes and stretching. "That smells great nii-chan!" He sat down at the table and accidentally hit his hand on the table. "OUCH!" Sasuke looked down at it and noticed that the dressings were removed.

Itachi noticed his surprise and decided to elaborate. "Your little cut seemed to be healing pretty well, and since it wasn't too bad, I decided to let it air out."

"Oh okay." Itachi put two plates of food on the table and sat down while his brother began to devour the food. After breakfast, Itachi agreed to bring Sasuke out with him to train.

The days went by in pretty much the same way. However, at night, Sasuke would always have these realistic "dreams" of Itachi slashing first his hand and then continuing up to his arms, shoulders, chest, calves, and then thighs. They all began to get deeper and bloodier, and each time Itachi wouldn't leave a drop of blood on the kunai. On the last night, however, it was different. Sasuke just layed there on his bed because he couldn't fall asleep. He was heavily bandaged and was drifting in and out of terrible dreams. Then he thought he heard a noise next to his bed, but when he tried to look, his eyes were covered by an icy hand. He tried to yell out, but his screams were stifled with a rag. He tried to swipe at the person, but his arms were caught and tied to the bed. A piece of cloth was tied around his eyes, and he began to cry. The icy hands touched each wound gently, as if inspecting their handiwork. Then, he heard the person take out a kunai. This is when Sasuke began to try to kick out, only to find that his legs were tied down in the same way as his arms. He felt the kunai rip through the thigh of his pants. The icy hands caressed the skin, and then he felt the stab of pain as the kunai was forced deep into his leg. Sasuke could hear his own stifled screams, and he could feel the warmth of his own blood running down his leg, staining the sheets. The blindfold was removed, and the first thing Sasuke saw was the blood-red sharingan staring down at him. The attacker was Itachi, and this time, Sasuke knew it wasn't a dream. The blood, _his blood_ was dripping from Itachi's mouth. All Sasuke could do was stare, horrified, as Itachi licked the blood from his sheets. Itachi laughed loudly and mercilessly before moving closer to Sasuke's face.

"Little, innocent Sasuke. You don't want me to hurt you anymore, do you?" Itachi put his kunai against Sasuke's throat. His answer was muffled by the gag. "Just shake or nod your head my little butterfly." He shook his head vigorously and almost cut his neck on the kunai. "Exactly. So, if I hear that you've told anyone about our little games here, and I will hear about it, I will kill mommy and daddy and everyone else who's close to you. Do you understand?" Sasuke nodded his head in response. "Good. Now I'm gonna let you sleep." And with that, Itachi hit Sasuke over the head and knocked him out.

The next morning, Sasuke and Itachi greeted their parents at the door. Their parents had brought back a puppy for a gift. "We just wanted to thank you two for being so good this week." Their parents smiled, and Sasuke grabbed the puppy out of his mother's hands.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He spun around and bumped into his brother. Itachi was staring down at the little dog with a pondering grin, and....his eyes were blood red.


End file.
